Free Range Standards

I get regular emails from Choice and this one in particular touched a nerve with me.

Even though we do not buy eggs I know that not everyone has the ability to have chickens and therefore must purchase the eggs for their household.  What I do not support is the watered down version of "free Range" the the egg corporations are proposing.  I do not think that anyone purchasing free range eggs should have to question to what degree the chickens  are actually free range before trusting the label on the carton.  They either are or they are not.  And at 20,000 chickens per hectare or 5 chicken per Sq Metre, in my opinion they are not.

Here is the email I was sent please try and comment on their facebook page or email if you can.

Earlier this year, over 3100 people stood with CHOICE to ask the ACCC to reject the Australian Egg Corporation's unreasonable attempt to increase "free range" stocking densities by 13-fold. The great news for consumers is that the ACCC listened to us, finding that 20,000 chickens per hectare does "not accord with consumer expectations about the free range production of eggs". This is a welcome development, however it is only an initial assessment and the final decision is yet to be made. The Egg Corporation has announced it will try to overturn the decision. CHOICE will continue to fight for a consistent national free-range standard that meets consumer expectations but we need your help! We want the ACCC to know that consumers support their decision to reject the dodgy free-range standard. Please lend your voice to our effort by commenting on the image on our Facebook page. You can also email us at campaigns@choice.com.au. We will forward your messages to the ACCC.

A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to talk about Tea.

If you grow your own herbs or spices you can dry them and give them as gifts.  There are a huge number of herbs that you can make tea from it is really just personal preference.
My favourites are Sage & Thyme, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Lemon and Ginger and Rosella (Native Hibiscus).
Just as a side note if you feel a cold or a sore throat coming on, and have sage and thyme in your garden, pick a sprig of each and put in a mug and pour over boiling water.  Both herbs have natural anti-inflammatory, antiseptic properties and I swear by this tea as a cold remedy and will drink cup after cup when not well.

When giving your herbs as a gift for tea you have a couple of options.  You might like to pack the dried herbs and spices into individually labelled jar and provide small cards with surviving suggestions of different flavour combinations.  But you can also buy packets of empty teabags so you  can make them up ready to go.  Or you might do a bit of both where some are packed ready to go and some are left up to the recipient.

Fill your own tea bags

Packed with fresh sage and thyme

Another option is to make up a batch of Chai Tea as a gift.  This spiced Indian tea can be tailor made to suit any taste and makes an excellent gift.

Chai Tea

1/2 Cup Black Tea Leaves

3 Cinnamon Sticks

12 Cardamon Pods 

12 Peppercorns

4 Dried Allspice Berries or 1/2 Tsp Ground Allspice

15 Cloves

1 Tsp Cummin Seeds

1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/4 Tsp Ground Ginger

Take all your ingredients except for the tea and spices that are already ground and grind in a moter and pestle.  You do not want to grind it to a powder by any means, so a few chunks are fine, but you do want the  flavours to blend.  mix in the other already ground spices and the tea leaves and store in an air tight container.

Making Chai

Put 2 tsp of the Chai mix into a sauce pan and add 2 lt of boiling water and 2 cups of milk and bring to the boil then turn off and let the mix steep for 5 minutes or longer if you like.  Strain the tea into cups and sweeten if you want with honey and sugar

Chai is one of those drinks that can be made to suit your tastes so feel free to add and subtract spices to your liking.  I sometimes add star anise or fennel seeds too.  It is all about trial and error.

Seed Swapping

A little while ago I announced that I had Pak Choy Seeds to give away.  A number of you replied and seeds have since been posted off.

I did not offer the seeds with the expectation that I was getting anything in return so it was a lovely to receive things in return.

I received seeds and also some lovely seed envelopes from the lovely Patricia.

Swapping seeds with friends and family is such a practical thing to do since most seeds do not germinate as well once they are a year or so old and there are usually more in a packet than you need.  Also if you choose to save you own seeds you are likely to end up with enough to supply a commercial market garden so why not share them around.

If you are new to seed saving or would like more information Liz from 8 Acres provided so useful links in this post.

I still have plenty of seeds left if you would like some and they can be posted anywhere in Australia so let me know if you would like some.

A Home Made Christmas

Each Wednesday from now until Christmas I will be blogging about a gift idea that can be made at home and I would love it if you would join in each week with your own contribution to "A Home Made Christmas".
I am sure that there are great projects to make, goodies to make, bake and bottle and ideas that you all have to share. I look forward to reading all about the things you make and being inspired by your ideas.

If you are worried about ruining the surprise feel free to post about something you have made in the past, something you saw or something you have received.

When planning home made gifts you need to consider a number of things:
How long the item will take to make? How far ahead do I need to plan?
How long will it keep?  What is the shelf life?
Does it need time to mature like Christmas Cakes/Puddings?
Can I make more than one at a time and give them to a number of people?

This week I want to share a Jamie Oliver recipe that has been a hit in this house ever since I first made it and has been well received as a gift by others.  Jamie's Epic BBQ Sauce.  This BBQ sauce can be used on its own or as a marinade.  It also makes divine spare ribs and chicken wings.

I have multiplied the original recipe by 5 (but feel free to divide it by 5) because it takes a bit of time to make and it means I can make it ahead of Christmas then just bottle it the week before.  I like to bottle it in my Fowlers Preserving Jars and store it till I am ready but it also freezes well.

Jamie's Epic BBQ Sauce

For the Paste:
5 Onions, Peeled and quartered
50 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled
10 Long Red Chillies, stalks removed
5 Tbls Olive Oil

Herbs and Spices:
50 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme, hard stems removed
50 Sprigs of Rosemary, hard stems removed
1 Large Bunch of Corriander
50 Bay Leaves
5 Tsp Cummin Seeds
10 Tbls Fennel Seeds
10 Tbls Smoked Paprika
30 Cloves

To Finish:
Zest and Juice of 10 Oranges
1kg Brown Sugar
1400 Ml Water
30 Tbls Balsamic Vinegar
1 Lt Tomato Sauce
10 Tbls Worcestershire Sauce
10 Tsp English Mustard
1 Lt Apple Juice
5 Tsp Salt
5 Tsp Pepper

Blitz all of the Paste ingredients except the oil in a food processor until you have a really fine paste.  Pour the oil into a stock pot on medium heat and fry this paste for 5 minutes.

While this is happening add all the herbs and spices plus the peel (without any of the white pith) of the oranges to the food processor.  Blitz really well then add to the pot and cook for another minute.  Add the sugar and stir until dissolved and you have a thick brown paste.  Then add the water and orange juice and cook for 2 minutes.  Add all your remaining ingredients and stir well.  Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken.

Pour the sauce through a fine sieve and into a large bowl.  Rinse the sieve and pour it through a second time to make the sauce really silky.
It is at this stage that I bottle mine into my preserving jars and put into a water bath for 30 minutes to seal.
Alternatively leave it to cool completely and divide between jars/bottles.
It will keep for a month in the fridge or up to a year if preserved in sterile jars.

How are you going with your Christmas plans?  Link up below and leave a comment.

Job Done and Just In Time

I had last week off work and after a weekend away camping with Hubby and Jessie the dog I had a plan to paint the ceiling in the lounge.
Our house is old and the ceiling is made up of panels which created a lot of extra cutting in.  But before I even got to the painting we had to move all the furniture out onto the veranda, then there was the washing with sugar soap and taping up around the edges.

It is not till you get up close and personal with your ceiling that you realise exactly how grubby it is.  I think for us not having fly screens makes a big difference and it is something that we will make sure we have in NZ when we build.
Hubby was working all week so it was up to me to do all the painting and I tell you one thing, it is a pain in the butt not having a second person to help you move ladders and a painters trestle around.

It has been so dry here lately it was the ideal time to paint.  But on Friday morning the weather report was for afternoon storms and I knew I had to hustle. I knew I was not going to be able to move the furniture back inside by myself even if had the finished the painting so I covered everything with a tarp.
And just as well I did as a storm rolled in and we got 35 mls of rain in the first hour.  Oh how we needed that rain.  It has been so dry (only 15 mls since the start of June) and everything was dry and crunchy.

We received over 70 mls of rain in the end and my garden was breathing a sigh of relief.
But the painting was finished and the garden watered, what more could you want on a Friday afternoon.